CEO-for-a-day parachutes out of Duke Energy with $44 million

LA Times – For a few hours this week, William D. Johnson served as chief executive of Duke EnergyCorp. before resigning. His departure package could include $7.4 million in severance, relocation expenses and more, according to a securities filing.

Johnson, formerly CEO of Progress Energy Inc., signed a contract on June 27 to head up Duke for three years. He assumed the position on July 2, when a long-planned, multibillion-dollar merger between Progress and Duke, an electric utility focused in the Southeast, went into effect.